4x10 Episode Tag: Never Really Forgotten
by Colourful Glitter
Summary: How I would have liked the episode 'Red Fugue' to end after Lisbon takes Jane back to his house in Malibu to jog his memory. The show never told us what happened, so this is my dream ending to the episode. Light T for mild language.


**Author's Note: I know I already have other stories to work on, and I am working on them. But, I was watching a rerun of a Mentalist episode the other day(the one where Jane almost dies and then has amnesia)and this idea popped into my head. I decided to post it for Canada Day as a treat. It's just an episode tag that wouldn't leave me alone. I hope you all enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist.**

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"Would you like me to gift wrap the killer for you, too?" Jane sighed as he cuddled with the pillow of his hospital bed.

"You usually do." Lisbon replied.

"My parting gift I will give to you tomorrow morning."

Lisbon huffed, picking Jane's suit jacket off the visitors chair to sit in it.

Even though Jane wasn't looking in her direction, he could hear the shuffling and knew she hadn't left. "There's room up here." He offered, internally wishing for her to accept his offer.

Lisbon just glared at him and rolled her eyes.

Jane knew that her silence and lack of movement meant her answer was a no. He didn't push any more than that.

-Mentalist-

He wasn't sure exactly when he'd fallen asleep, or how long he was out, but he woke up a little while later. The clock on the medical equipment told him that it was almost 1 A.M. the next morning. He shifted and stretched as he sat up. Jane caught sight of Lisbon sleeping, hunched over in the visitor's chair with his suit jacket in her lap. She looked very uncomfortable. She wasn't going to get any decent rest like that. Jane slid off the bed and quietly made his way over to her. Gently, he took his jacket from her lap and tossed it over the foot of the bed. He started to carefully unzip her jacket when she shifted, but thankfully didn't wake up.

"Teresa, listen very carefully to me. We're going to remove your jacket so you can get some proper sleep. Just think about rest and the sound of the zipper. Rest and the sound of the zipper. Rest…zipper…" When he felt it was safe, he unzipped the jacket the rest of the way and carefully manoeuvred it off of her. Lisbon's jacket joined Jane's on the foot of the bed and then Jane slid one arm under her legs, the other around her back and picked her up. Once she was placed gently on the bed, Jane threw their jackets back on the visitor's chair and removed her shoes. Climbing on the bed, Jane pulled her tightly to him. "On the count of three, when I say 'sleep', you'll return to your regular sleeping. One. Two. Three, sleep."

Lisbon's body language shifted, letting Jane know she was no longer under his control.

Jane examined her face. He still didn't remember much, but some things had felt familiar to him. The CBI felt familiar. The team felt familiar. Especially Lisbon. She'd felt very familiar and she evoked some kind of attention from him. Similar to when you see an actor in the movie that you _know_ you've seen somewhere else, but you can't remember where. That same frustrating familiarity that made you want to focus on them as hard as you can so that you can figure out the answer. She'd said they were friends and colleagues, but he felt some kind of deeper connection with her that made him question that. Holding her like this didn't seem familiar, but did feel very right. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall back asleep.

-Mentalist-

Lisbon felt very relaxed as her brain returned to consciousness. She snuggled closer to her pillow and breathed in deeply…Wait. That wasn't a pillow she was snuggling…Was that…a person? Nervously, Lisbon opened her eyes and was greeted by Jane's gaze. She jumped, sitting up. "Jane?" She squeaked. "What the hell!?"

"What?" He asked, innocently.

"What did you do?" Lisbon practically jumped off the bed and put her shoes on, grabbing for her coat.

"I didn't do anything."

"Well, I sure as hell didn't sleep walk my way from the chair to your bed!"

"How would you know? You would have been asleep."

She glared at him.

"I'm just saying." Jane shrugged.

"Try to start explaining how I got in the bed th-" Lisbon cut herself off as her expression changed from confusion to realisation and then a mix of anger and deep hurt. "You hypnotised me, didn't you?"

"That's absurd, Teresa." He lied effortlessly.

Lisbon's jaw tensed. "You did. You asshole! How could you do that to me? We're…" Lisbon shook her head. "We _were_ friends. Enjoy your life after this case. I don't go back on my word." With that, she put on her jacket and left the hospital room before Jane could say anything more.

He stood, staring at the door she'd just left through and wondered if his few hours of sleeping with her in his arms was worth the extreme hurt and anger he'd seen on her face.

-Mentalist-

Jane was satisfied in his work after the killer had been arrested. He felt as if he'd won, though that still didn't quell the uneasy feeling in his gut when he caught flashes of memories. Things were starting to come back to him. _Really_ starting to come back. And he didn't like it at all. He had tried running, but was unable to run from Lisbon's challenge at the end of the day. He'd go for a ride with her and he wouldn't remember anything at all. Then, he could feel free and live his life. At least, that what he'd planned for. He glanced over at Lisbon as she drove down the almost deserted road, the moon high in the sky. Soon enough they pulled into a long driveway in front of a modern looking house. It was very nice. Maybe he should buy himself one as a treat for his new life. He barely had time to finish the thought as a wave of extreme uneasiness hit him.

"Who's house is this?" He inquired as he got out of the car and followed Lisbon to the front door.

"Yours." She replied and held out her hand. "Give me your keys."

He owned this place? Jane handed her his keys. Suddenly, he didn't want to go inside, but he couldn't remember why he didn't want to.

Lisbon opened the door and led the way inside. Jane followed her up the stairs, with a strong feeling of déjà vu hanging over him. There was no furniture left in the house except for maybe the odd table or chair. In the hallway on the second floor, Lisbon stepped to the side in order for him to go ahead of her. She knew that the walk down the hallway to the room where he found his family dead is something he'd have to do on his own.

Jane looked at her for a moment as he passed, but didn't say anything as he continued on toward the door at the end of the hall. There was something bad on the other side of the door, he knew it. He could feel it. Gently, he placed his hand on the doorknob and turned it, pushing it slowly open. Memories started flooding his mind of Charlotte and Angela, then he saw the smiley face on the wall and it all hit him like a ton of bricks. He'd gotten them killed because he couldn't keep his mouth shut. He no longer knew what to do, or even, what he _wanted_ to do. Jane just stared at the smiley face on the wall as tears formed in his eyes and he pressed his lips together to try and keep them from quivering.

"I'm sorry." Lisbon said softly from the other end of the hallway.

He calmed himself down, wiping at the tears that had fallen down his cheeks. Slowly, he shut the door and turned to walk back down the hall and stand in front of Lisbon. "Why?"

Lisbon was surprised. "Why what?"

"Why did you bring me here?" Jane elaborated.

Lisbon held his gaze for a moment. Wasn't it obvious? To help bring his memories back. A small voice in the back of her head whispered that it was a little bit of payback for upsetting her the way he had, but she ignored it. This was purely about Jane having a right to the truth and his memories. "I thought it would help you remember."

"Congratulations." He told her flatly. "You got your wish. Why does it matter to you so much if I remember or not?"

_Because you would have left if I didn't help you remember_. "Because you would be devastated if you went back to the way you were and then remembered them later. At least, the you I know would. You deserve to know what happened. It's your life."

She had a point. As much as he didn't want to admit it, she did.

"I'm sorry that this is how it happened, Jane. I can wait in the car if you want a moment."

"No." Jane shook his head. "That's okay. I think we're done here."

Lisbon nodded and lead the way back outside, locking the house as they left.

"And what about you?" Jane asked as they got in the car.

"What about me?"

"What's our relationship?"

Lisbon gave him a curious look.

"I remember my family and what happened. I don't remember everything. You and the team are still a bit fuzzy."

"I told you. We're colleagues and friends."

"That's it?"

"That's it." Lisbon pulled her keys from her pocket to start the car.

"That doesn't seem right."

Lisbon put the key in the ignition, but didn't start the car. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, we seem really close. I told you about the memory palace and everything."

"That's what friends do. They tell each other things."

"Have we ever considered being more?"

Lisbon's cheeks darkened. "No! No."

"Really?"

"This is just you trying to get in my pants again, isn't it? Honestly, Jane! What is your problem!?" Lisbon pulled the key out of the ignition and got out of the car.

"That's not it at all." Jane tried to tell her, but it was too late. She was already out of the car, shutting the door a little bit harder than was necessary. He got out and hurried to catch up with her as she stormed down the driveway. "Teresa!"

Lisbon didn't stop. She just continued toward the gate at the end of the driveway, preparing herself to punch him if the situation called for it.

"Teresa, wait." Jane called. "That's not what I meant at all."

Lisbon continued to ignore him, stepping past the gate and on to the side of the road. She felt Jane grab her elbow and forced her to turn around. She glared at him.

"I'm not trying to bed you, Teresa. I'm just trying to make it all make sense again."

"Yeah, well, hypnotising me so you would have a cuddle buddy for the night doesn't exactly back that story up."

"That's not what happened."

"Oh, really?" Lisbon raised a brow.

"Okay, yes. I hypnotised you. That part happened, but not for the reasons you think."

Lisbon still didn't look impressed.

"I hypnotised you so you wouldn't wake up when I got your jacket off you."

"That makes everything better." She told him sarcastically.

"I'm not done explaining. I felt bad that you were sleeping in a plastic chair and I didn't feel right letting you sleep like that the whole night. If you had woken up while I was moving you, you would have walked away or flat out refused me again. But the moment I had you settled, I undid it. I swear. I didn't do anything else."

Lisbon pressed her lips together, still angry at him as she held his gaze.

"I would never take advantage of you like that."

"That's debateable."

"I upset you, Teresa. I am sorry."

Lisbon shook her head. "You're sorry. But you're not sorry for what you did to me. You're sorry about your family. I get that. I'm not angry about that. I couldn't ever be angry with you about that because it wouldn't be fair. I hope that one day, you'll be able to accept what's happened and move on. It's unpleasant to see you miserable and I'm sure it's equally unpleasant being miserable. I can't stop you from doing whatever it is that you want to do, no matter how much I sometimes wish I could. Go if you want to go. It's your choice. Not mine." She yanked her elbow from his grip, crossed her arms over her chest, then turned and began to walk away.

Jane just stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. "You were right." He called to her.

She stopped, but didn't turn around. At least she had stopped. That meant she was paying attention at least.

"I was trying to run away because I felt something. I felt a lot of things. The fog over my memories was lifting and I was scared. There were a lot of things I wanted to ask you, but I wasn't sure I was going to like the answers I got. I upset you and thought that maybe it would be best if I left you alone. I didn't want to. You think it was a coincidence that my date was a brunette?"

That earned him a glance over her shoulder.

"I didn't want to leave you, but I felt like you didn't want me there. I felt like I was going around in circles, trying to figure things out and no one was going to help me. No one would really talk to me and I started to get a bad feeling about whatever had happened to me. I didn't want to remember it. I thought that if I left I wouldn't feel so trapped by that bad feeling and I wouldn't be a burden to you."

"You certainly started off trying to be a burden."

"Rigsby said I caused trouble."

"You _played_ me, Jane." Lisbon bit out. His words were touching, but he wasn't getting off that easily. "You played all of us. Oh, wait. Except Van Pelt because you wanted her in bed, too."

"I suppose that was a bit mean and juvenile."

"You '_suppose_'?" She still hadn't turned to face him.

"Okay. I admit, it was. I could have handled that better."

"What's that, supposed to mean? Handle what better?" She turned a quarter of the way to face him.

He was pleased. They were making progress. He hadn't lost her yet. "You."

"This has nothing to do with me."

"It has everything to do with you."

"No. This has to do with the fact that you lost your memories and turned into a womanizing trouble maker/pain in the ass."

"No. It has everything to do with you."

"You're an idiot."

"I doubt that."

Lisbon huffed and rolled her eyes, turning away from him again.

"I felt something for you. I didn't know what it was, but I knew it was something. Of everyone, you were the most familiar. I didn't know why, but I felt incredibly happy when I saw you walk into my room. I didn't remember your name or how I knew you, but I still _knew_ you. I didn't really forget you. I forgot why I knew you and I felt like I'd lost you a bit in the process. I tried to distract myself and it didn't work. I felt-still feel-so strongly about you that us just being friends doesn't make sense. I wish I'd been smarter and not lost my family, but now I'm terrified that I'm going to lose you, too. I don't want that, Teresa."

Silenced passed between them and a small breeze passed them by. Worried about Lisbon's lack of reaction, Jane closed the gap between them, walking to stand in front of her. She was looking at her feet, but her eyes were moist with unshed tears.

"Teresa…"

Lisbon closed her eyes and shook her head. Meeting his gaze she said, "Stop. You're not mine. You never were. End it here. You're going to get all your memories back and regret this whole thing."

Jane shook his head.

"Yes, you will. Because that's what you do, Jane. That's what's going to happen and I know it. End it here, before we go too far and ruin everything."

A flash of a memory appeared before Jane's eyes. A memory of Lisbon in a grey t-shirt and looking very upset, pleading for him not to tell the team something. That something he couldn't remember. "No. We need to have this conversation."

"Oh, _now_ you're the one that wants to talk."

"Yes."

"No. You're not even you right now. At least, not the you I know. And sometimes it can be difficult for me to trust _him_."

"How long have we known each other?" He inquired.

"About seven years."

That surprised him. "Were we always so close?"

"Not always, no." She tucked some hair behind her ear when the breeze blew it in her face. "What?"

Jane shook his head. "I just…can't believe this might be the first time we've really talked."

"We talk to each other a lot."

"Like this?"

"No."

"Then I guess we're overdue. I've treated you badly with the whole trying to make you jealous thing and the hypnotism. I really am sorry."

Lisbon looked at him confused. "Trying to make me jealous?"

Jane nodded.

Lisbon blinked, disbelievingly as the information set in. "The whole thing with Van Pelt? That was you trying to make me jealous?" She could have laughed, it was such a stupid idea.

"Yes, I know. It was a bit juvenile and mean. But it was the only thing I could think of."

Lisbon smirked at him, but she was still cautious.

"I don't really remember everything I've done in the past to you or the team, or just things I've done in general. But, from what I see, I've wronged you before. I can't tell you why right now because I honestly don't remember why. But I do wish I hadn't wronged you at all. You're important to me. I know you are. I know I'm being selfish, but please don't walk away from me. I have no idea what to do without you. I need you, Teresa." He brushed her bangs out of her eyes gently. "I don't want you to go. I'll do better."

Lisbon wasn't sure what to say. She wasn't even sure she trusted herself to speak, so she just nodded.

Jane couldn't help the smile that pulled at the corners of his mouth. He wrapped his arms around her torso and hugged her tightly, burying his face in the crook of her neck. This was a major victory for him. He didn't care that her body stiffened in surprise as he held her. She wasn't leaving. That was the start.

Startled by Jane's sudden embrace, Lisbon wasn't sure what to do. Awkwardly, she patted his back and waited for him to pull away.

Jane didn't pull away.

"Jane?" Lisbon got no response. "Jane…_Patrick_."

Jane lifted his head to look at her, but didn't let go of her. "Yes?"

Lisbon's throat constricted. What had she even planned on saying? She hadn't. She thought he would have pulled away from her and they'd have headed back to the car. But he hadn't pulled away. And he was looking at her with such strong…was that affection? No. That wasn't it.

"Teresa? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. We should get going. It's a long drive back and it's really late already."

Jane nodded, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to her cheek, letting his lips linger there as he waited for her to turn and go back to the car.

She didn't turn away. She didn't step back. She was stuck there with his warm breath on her cheek. Her eyes fluttered shut as her pulse picked up.

"Teresa?"

"Hm…"

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah." Lisbon snapped back to reality, stepping away.

Jane felt slightly chilled with her body heat gone.

"So, we'll go."

Jane nodded.

There was a loud honking noise that caused Lisbon to jump and stumble into Jane. Just a bunch of kids in a car that was playing music that was too loud. They were probably going to a party.

"Jeez." Lisbon fixed her jacket as the car full of kids disappeared down the road. "They nearly gave me a heart attack."

"It's a good thing you didn't shoot them." Jane smirked as he smoothed her hair out of her face.

"Shut up." Lisbon scowled at him.

"You'll have to make me." Jane pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.

Lisbon just looked at him, shocked at his boldness.

"We have a long drive ahead of us. We should get going."

Lisbon's cheeks were darkly flushed as she turned and headed back to her car, Jane in tow.

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**Author's Note: Well, that was it. I hope you all enjoyed it. Happy Canada Day everyone! Leave a review to let me know what you thought. :3**


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